


It's Not Rocket Science

by artemisscribe



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Brotp, Dancing Lessons, Gordon is also in it but he has no lines, John is super clumsy on earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 00:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11978313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artemisscribe/pseuds/artemisscribe
Summary: After discovering that he will be required to dance at a grand event that the Tracy Brothers are attending John finds himself taking dance lessons with Penelope and hating every second of it.





	It's Not Rocket Science

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akire_yta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akire_yta/gifts).



She’s trying not to be disappointed, she really is, but apparently her poker face isn’t as good as she’d like it to be.

 

“Don’t look at me like that!” John sighs, breaking the hold to cross his arms defensively across his chest, “I did tell you I’m not very good at this.”

 

“I thought you were being modest,” Penny argues, taking his hand to make him unfold his arms again.

 

John rolls his eyes,

 

“Penelope please, when have I ever been modest?” he asks with the most cutting drawl he can manage.

 

He does have a point. John’s never been arrogant but he is deeply pragmatic about his abilities, when he knows he’s good at something he sees no point in hiding it, except of course for his divine voice.

 

“I just thought that you saying you couldn’t dance was like you saying you couldn’t sing,” Penny explains as she uses the toe of her shoe to shift his feet back into their starting position and guides his hand back to her waist.

 

“I never said I  _ can’t _ sing, I said I  _ don’’t _ sing,” John corrects, “It’s a vast difference. And I’m telling you Penny, I can’t dance.”

 

She gives him a stern look, the one Gordon calls her School Ma’am face.

 

“You just need practice,” she insists firmly as she gives him a nudge to take his first step. They make it through three bars of music before he trips over his own feet and nearly sends both of them tumbling to the ground.

 

“Penny!” John whines, sounding unsettlingly like Alan as he prepares to beg to be released yet again.

 

“Oh for goodness sake!” she snaps, “It’s hardly rocket science darling!”

 

“Yeah, I can actually  _ do _ that!” he fires back, and Penny sighs in frustration. They never snap at each other, they’re John and Penny, bickering is for lesser mortals.

 

She takes a calming breath and schools her tone,

 

“All I’m trying to say is if you spent as much time actually trying as you do complaining you’d have it by now.”

 

“I like to be good at things,” John says quietly,

 

“I know,” she soothes, squeezing his arm, “But sometimes you have to work at things to be good at them. You wouldn’t let Alan quit just because he didn’t do it perfectly first time would you?”

 

“No,” he admits, smiling a little at her, “I’m sorry.”

 

“So am I,” she says, arching up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, “Now come along; six weeks is more than enough time to get this right.

 

*

 

It turns out that six weeks is not enough time to teach her ridiculous baby giraffe of a friend how to dance.

 

John hovers behind Scott, apologising profusely as his big brother carries Penny off the dancefloor. It would be quite lovely to be carried anywhere in a ballgown and tiara by a Tracy brother, and to be fussed over by dashing young men in white tie and tails, although she’d really prefer it if she didn’t have this throbbing pain in her right foot.

 

“Pen, I’m so sorry,” John says again as Scott sets Penny down on a chair at the side of the room. He has to step back as Gordon skids over with a napkin full of ice to offer to Virgil who is already knelt at Penny’s feet checking her over.

 

“It’s really quite alright darling,” she says, trying to smile rather than wince as Virgil’s hands move over her foot, “What’s a couple of broken toes between friends.”

 

“And a sprained ankle” Virgil chips in as he takes the makeshift ice pack from Gordon to press over her ankle. That gets another groan from John,

 

“Oh god I’m so sorry” he says again.

 

“Really it’s my fault,” she insists reaching out her hand for him to take, “I mean dancing’s not exactly rocket science is it?”

 

That finally makes him laugh,

 

“No,” he agrees, “It’s really not.”

**Author's Note:**

> @akire_yta asked ever so nicely for John and Penny dancing with the prompt "It's not rocket science" "No, I can actually do that" so here this fic is


End file.
